Thoughts and observations about Modesto and Stanislaus County

The State of Virginia Sets Women Back 50 Years

By Louise Taylor

Virginia had a state election last month and the Republicans won by an overwhelming majority. So, you might wonder, what is the first order of business for the newly elected Republicans? Is it providing jobs? Is it helping the poor or needy? Is it helping students receive a good education? Is it helping uninsured people get health care? No, their first order of business is to ban all abortions, regardless of circumstance. In addition to that, they want to ban “all hormonal birth control”. That means the birth control pill, the most commonly used form of birth control nation-wide, may now be banned inVirginia. We can be certain of the results of this type of legislation: illegal abortions resulting in the deaths of many young women, an increase in the number of families and children living in poverty, and a drop in the number of girls that graduate from high school. Teens have sex, whether we want them to or not and by taking away a teen-age girls ability to prevent pregnancy, you are condemning her (and her children) to a life of poverty.

The birth control pill is a remarkable advance in the ability of women to plan and space their children as they see fit. It allows college age women to finish their educations and start their career path prior to having children. It allows young mothers to go back to work without the worry of having a baby every year. Countless studies have shown that women who have fewer babies and space them appropriately are healthier and happier, as are their children.

Ultimately, it is the middle-class and lower-class women who will suffer from this legislation. The wealthy women who experience an unwanted pregnancy can afford to travel to a state that allows safe abortions.

The second order of business for these newly elected representatives? Jobs? Healthcare? Education? Reduce poverty? These would all be worthwhile endeavors for politicians of any political affiliation, but that’s not what’s going to happen inVirginia. Virginia will now try to make it legal to discriminate in the area of adoption. Not only will you be banned from adopting a child if you are gay, but other “legal” reasons to stop someone from adopting a child will include: gender (I guess if you’re a man or a woman, you can’t adopt), disability, religion and POLITICAL AFFILIATION! That’s right – you might be denied the ability to adopt a child inVirginia because you are Jewish, or Catholic, or atheist, or Buddhist, or because you are a democrat! I guess there are plenty of straight, Republican, (insert appropriate religion here), inVirginiato adopt all those needy children. They’ve sure made it impossible for anyone else to adopt.

Don’t Republicans care about children? Why do they condemn children who have yet to be conceived to a life of poverty? Why don’t they care about children already living, who need good homes? Why can’t they do better?